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"Without tax reform, we stand to lose what we think we have accomplished" for environmental agencies, said W. Tayloe Murphy Jr., Warner's secretary of natural resources. "That is going to be the big issue."

Among his proposals, Warner wants to raise fees paid by businesses and localities for water-pollution and waste permits.

Before 2002, a factory paid $8,000 every five years for a permit to release treated wastewater into a stream. The fee had not been raised in at least a decade. The 2002 legislature increased that fee to $24,000 and raised fees for similar permits. A sunset provision would end those increases this June.

Warner is recommending that the five-year fee for a factory return to $8,000 but that an annual fee also be imposed, for a total five-year fee of $30,500. There would also be increases in fees to run sewage plants and build landfills.

Critics of the current structure say the fees should pick up more of the cost of running the state's permit programs. Before 2002, fees picked up 5 percent to 15 percent of the cost, and the public paid the rest. Under Warner's proposal, the increased fees would cover about 37 percent of costs.

The proposal could meet some resistance.

"There is not a great deal of excitement on the part of the business community to pay substantially higher fees," said Steve Haner, a Virginia Chamber of Commerce vice president.

Businesspeople are still learning budget details such as the fee increase, Haner said. "That would be one reason there is not a line forming to endorse the governor's tax plan."

Without new revenue from the fees or some other source, the state Department of Environmental Quality "will not have the money needed to implement our baseline environmental-protection programs," said Kathy Frahm, the DEQ's policy director.

But Haner said he thought the fee increase could be lessened if the DEQ operated more efficiently.

On another issue, Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William, said he will introduce a bill to raise the fee that Waste Management Inc. will pay to barge trash up the James River to Charles City County.

Waste Management and state officials made a controversial secret deal in December 2002 that settled a lawsuit the company had brought. Among the deal's provisions, the company agreed to pay a $1-a-ton fee for barging the trash.

During a comment period a few months later, many people, unaware of the deal, asked for a fee of $5 to $10 a ton.

The state Waste Management Board quickly adopted the $1 fee and other barge rules July 25 after a closed meeting that lasted nearly two hours. Terms of the deal were disclosed Aug. 8, outraging environmentalists and other critics, who called the comment period a sham.

Marshall said he probably will seek a fee of $5 to $7 a ton. He said he wants the debate conducted in public this time.

"What happened last time, with this negotiated agreement behind closed doors, I just find distasteful. I do not think the public interest was served," he said.

The secret deal was approved by Democrat Warner's administration and Republican Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore's office. Both offices say the barge rules are tough and legal.

General Assembly watchers expect to see, again, several proposals to give localities more control over sprawl.

One proposal would give localities the power to charge developers "impact fees" to offset the costs of providing services to new homes. Similar bills have found little success in past sessions, with legislators reluctant to give localities more power - and themselves less.

A group of about 25 localities, called the Coalition of High Growth Communities, seeks greater control over sprawl. The group includes Chesterfield, Henrico, Hanover, Goochland, New Kent and Powhatan counties.

Roger Wiley, a Richmond lawyer representing the group, said success will take time. "You try year after year, and each year we get a little more support."